libdems - the orange book

gang of four: Bill Rodgers, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams n David Owen > 1981, 4 former Labour ministers, believed Labour party had been taken over by the ‘Left’, left party to form Social Democratic Party

sdp-liberal alliance: electoral alliance between SDP and liberal party @1983 n 1987 elections

alliance won 26% (1983) n 23.1% (1983) of the vote, merged in 1988 to form LibDems

liberalism: political ideology associated with personal liberty, toleration and limited govt; often divided into 2 separate strands: classical and progressive (new)

history:

the liberal party, once the main party of government until 1918, became a distant third by the 1960s.
the social democratic party (SDP) emerged in 1981 in response to michael foot's control of the labour party.
in 1983, an alliance between the liberal party and SDP secured 26% of the vote but only 23 seats.
they formally merged in 1988, becoming the liberal democrats under paddy ashdown's leadership.
following ashdown's resignation in 1999, charles kennedy led the party until 2006.
nick clegg, the most notable leader, led the party from 2007 to 2015, including their first and only stint in government.

classical	progressive
minimal state intervention	some regulation of the economic market
freedom, toleration and equality are important	provision of basic welfare
self-reliance n self-improvement are more important than the state when improving the lives of the under-privileged	emphasises reform, individual rights and a mixed economy
some tenets adopted by thatcher + the new right

nick clegg & the lib dems:

orange book liberals: draws on ‘classical liberalism’ influenced by neo-liberalistssuch as Milton Friedman; endorses thatcherite aconomics

nick clegg, ed davey, david laws

social liberals: draws on ‘progressive liberalism’ of keynes and beveridge; rejects thatcherite economics

tim farron, simon hughes

challenged party foundations, proposing a government program with constitutional reform, civil liberties protection, and significant tax cuts.
represented a victory for orange book liberals over social liberals.
made a coalition with conservatives in 2010 more conceivable.

libdems in govt:

Failure to gain credit for policies like raising the 'personal allowance' threshold to £10,000.
Defeat in attempts to alter the Westminster voting system, highlighted by the AV referendum in 2011.
Abandonment of the 'keystone' policy to scrap tuition fees in December 2010.
Insufficient reward for policies and disproportionate condemnation for failures.
Sparked a U-turn in election fortunes

libdems post-2015:

elected tim farron as leader in 2015.
resigned following 2017 election, after comments about gay marriage.
replaced by vince cable, who served in government as business secretary (2010-5).
party moved back towards its social liberal heritage, as demonstrated in 2017 manifesto.
'caught out' by theresa may’s decision to call an election in 2017.
positioned itself as ‘party of the 48%’.
tim farron was forced to stand down afterward following comments concerning gay marriage and was replaced by jo swinson.
jo swinson then lost her seat in the 2019 election, forcing her to subsequently stand down.
in the leadership election this summer, sir ed davey was elected leader.

lib dem policies (2019):

scrap brexit – "bollocks to brexit" main campaign slogan.
1p on income tax – specifically for the NHS; a return to an old policy used until 1997.
free childcare – for children aged 2-4, 35h a week, 48 weeks a year.
80% of electricity from renewables – achieve target by 2030.
tax frequent flyers – ensuring those that travel the most pay the most.
recruit 20,000 more teachers – and spend £10.4bn more a year.
legalise cannabis – preventing drug gangs from gaining profit from what is seen as a "gateway" drug.
freeze train fares – peak time and season tickets.
20% pay bonus for zero-hour contracts – by essentially boosting the minimum wage.
resettle 10,000 refugees a year – keeping the vulnerable person resettlement scheme.
targeted tax rises – mentions the idea of hypothecation of taxes.
build 300,000 new homes a year – bring house supply in line with demand.

	centre-left influence	centre-right influence
economy Individuals who work hard and contribute to society should have good, fulfilling and well-paid jobs while businesses and entrepreneurs who are creative, invest in their workforce and behave responsibly to their employees and the environment should be supported.	centre-left influence: Targeted tax rises for public services and climate change: 1p on income tax Corporation tax increases Tax on frequent flyers 20% minimum wage boost for those on 0-hour contracts to make work pay and decrease the use of these types of business practices.	centre-right influence: Aimed to run a 1% surplus on current spending. Toughest spending rule proposed by any major party in 2019.
welfare delivering welfare supports people in the hardest of times and delivers equal opportunities across the whole country	An extra £7bn per year for health and social care paid for by 1p on income tax. Free childcare for all children aged between 2 & 4 paid for by rise in corporation tax.	Responsible welfare spending where all additional spending is paid for by specific tax rises.
law & order united around a policy that is willing to take preventative measures that actually work to stop crime	Emphasis on community policing to prevent crime. Investment in local services. Focus on rehabilitation within the prison system. Legalisation of cannabis to undermine criminal gangs profiting from the illegal drugs trade.	An extra £1bn per year for policing which will place 2 new police officers in every council ward in the UK.
foreign policy	Embrace international liberalism. Advocate an active UK role in global problem-solving through institutions like the UN, EU, and WTO. Strong opposition to the Iraq War (2003), emphasising diplomacy and cooperation.	Committed to stopping Brexit. 'Bollocks to Brexit' central to the 2019 campaign. Shifted focus to advocate closer ties with the EU instead of rejoining.

how similar are the parties?

similarities	differences
All parties remain committed to the market and aspiration as central to the generation of wealth, high levels of public spending and a commitment to the economically insecure.	Key divisions remain over tax policy, the role of the state in the economy, especially nationalisation and the need to balance the books.
All parties support higher levels of spending on welfare, especially the NHS and education.	There are differences over the levels of spending and how they are paid for. It is clear that there are wider differences over the role of competition in the delivery of public services and the workings of the benefit system.
All parties favour an increase in the number of police officers on the street and investment in law and order.	Differences remain over how to tackle crime, in particular the causes of crime.
The parties remain committed to an open and outward facing UK playing a key role in the world. Gap in the parties in relation to defence policy appears to have narrowed following 2019.	There are clear differences over the relationship with the EU, the wider world and immigration policies and the free movement of people.

the end of ideology?

yes	no
Three main parties are all essentially social democratic in nature, concerned with making piecemeal changes to the current arrangements.	The three main UK parties still have distinct ideological traditions and a committed core support that strongly identifies with such traditions.
The ideological wings of each of the three main parties have been marginalised.	The ideological dividing lines became more apparent in the wake of the global financial crisis.
There are significant overlaps in the stated policies of the three main parties.	The election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader in 2015 offered the prospect of a return to a style of ideologically polarised politics not seen since the early 1980s.
Parties that once appeared to be fundamentally opposed to one another were able to enter into coalition in 2010.	The rise of smaller ideological and single issue parties and pressure groups suggests that ideology still matters to a significant proportion of the electorate.
There is increased emphasis on personality over substance.

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